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This question applies to anyone with a need to sort out a credit report issue, but I'll give the background in my particular case.

My credit is fine with all three agencies, but only one of the three has my credit card on the report. The other two think I don't have and have never had a credit card, which lowers my score according to them. The agency that knows about my card rates my credit higher.

I'd like all three to know about my credit card. I did the obvious things:

  • asked my bank, and they say they report the card to all three but can't do anything beyond that
  • called the credit agency (MY GOD - this gets you a person who is forbidden from saying anything not on the flow chart. it's like talking to a computer. if you don't answer yes or no the person just repeats the question. they must get fired if they deviate, or something.)
  • sent in the "there is a mistake on my credit" form for the agencies, along with supporting evidence and information. this just got me a form letter saying the bank does not send the credit card data to them. (which is also what the flowchart-reader on the phone said, without pausing to look anything up.)

Best I can tell, there's a flow chart used on phone and mail, where if someone says "you don't have my card on the report" they always blame the bank without actually doing anything.

I'd think they could look up the card in their database, look up me in their database, and try to determine why the two aren't connected. Or something. At least do a search for the card.

Has anyone found a way to get past the flow charts and get a person to try to sort something out?

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3 Answers 3

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Just get another credit card from a major bank.

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    For that matter, just move to a different country that doesn't have such a bizarrely over-formalized credit reporting system. :-P
    – poolie
    Commented Dec 10, 2010 at 0:02
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    Or kill yourself and wait to be reborn as a cochineal beetle. Beetles don't use money.
    – Joel Spolsky
    Commented Dec 10, 2010 at 4:35
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    fwiw this is actually good advice. Not everything you do will end up on your credit report. They have no obligation to put everything there.
    – Joel Spolsky
    Commented Dec 10, 2010 at 4:37
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    It's a large bank (USAA), and I believe them that they report it to all three. For sure just getting another card would be a fix for me, but I'm curious if these agencies are truly impossible to budge. What if I had some actual serious credit problem instead of a minor "my score could be slightly higher!" problem?
    – Havoc P
    Commented Dec 10, 2010 at 14:53
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    I'm actually serious here... the cost of opening a new credit card with Chase/BoA or one of a half dozen major banks is $0. Arguing with some faceless corporation will cost you dozens of hours with little result. We argued with the credit bureaus via email, phone and postal mail for 5 years that my wife isn't her mother and finally gave up.
    – duffbeer703
    Commented Dec 10, 2010 at 22:43
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I have found from personal experience it's better to send a letter using legalese. However I don't know what that should say or how to write it because it's been years since I've done it.

Ideally you could pick up the phone, but those places aren't really designed for your benefit. They're best designed to treat you like a statistic. How sad, yes?

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    +1 to putting it in writing, whenever you are finding an organization too bureaucratic on the phone. If the person who first receives it can't understand they can possibly escalate it, rather than making you repeat yourself. It wastes less of your time; it is less infuriating than trying to explain verbally to people who can't/won't understand; and it gives you a clear record.
    – poolie
    Commented Dec 10, 2010 at 23:04
  • The polite thing to do @poolie, when you think someone should get +1, is to give them +1/
    – jcolebrand
    Commented Dec 10, 2010 at 23:08
  • Heh, normally I do do that, and I add a comment only to expand on why I liked the answer. I'm not sure if I just forgot to vote after posting, or if for some reason it didn't stick.
    – poolie
    Commented Dec 10, 2010 at 23:14
  • these guys are immune to writing too (they give you a form and an address and all that but it doesn't get you anywhere). legalese, on the other hand, might help...
    – Havoc P
    Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 16:29
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Get another major credit card or two. Not everything always ends up on your credit report, and sometimes it just takes a while for things to show up.

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  • In this case I've had the card for 15 years or so, so I don't think it's showing up ;-) Of course just getting another card is a practical solution for this problem, but we're talking a very minor problem in my case, so I don't know if it's worth it. What about someone with a really important credit report mistake?
    – Havoc P
    Commented Dec 10, 2010 at 14:58

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